14294/The Rules Say What

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The Rules Say What
Date of Scene: 01 March 2023
Location: Sweet Dreams
Synopsis: Molly and Divine play a game, have ice cream and talk about FEELINGS.
Cast of Characters: Molly Hayes, Divine




Molly Hayes has posed:
    After school on a Tuesday, Molly is extra chipper! Why's that? She had a test on Monday and the results came in today! And the girl with the plethora of cute hats always treats herself when she does a good job. Talk about positive reinforcement! Of course, if she does badly, she also treats herself as a sort of coping mechanism and a promise to herself to do better and that she's still Molly, the awesome. Totally legit, totally works.

    But today, she lingers outside of Sweet Dreams, a really cool venue in Happy Harbor that's not far from the school at all. She's still got her backpack and is wearing a hat today that looks like a cute fox in black and orange! A rust fox! But right now she's poking at her phone, biting at her bottom lip as she sends a message to someone she'd only gotten to hang out with once.

    Divine.

    Or rather, in her phone, saved as 'Goth Power Girl'.

    <Hey, Divine! It's Molly! Thanks for flying with me! Do you want to have an ice cream date and play a game with me? Here's the address! It's Sweet Dreams in Happy Harbor! I'm already there, so send me a message if you can't make it!>

    Her thumb hovers over the 'Send' button for so long that her phone screen dims and then turns off. She makes a noise and brings it back up and makes sure to push the button this time, no hesitating!

Divine has posed:
Time is funny. For it is, in fact a Tuesday, but -what- Tuesday is it? It doesn't exactly matter, does it? For someone with an actual job, she doesn't work much. Emma only needs protection so often. This just means she has a lot of free time. Thusly, when Molly's text comes through, the clone is lounging around her apartment, watching awful daytime television. Her phone pings, and she grabs it, smiling slightly. She turns the television off, gets up from her couch and goes to change.

Moments later, she's stepping out the sliding door that leads to a sheer drop to the pavement below, closing it behind her, then she's gone.

It really only takes about five minutes before she lands, towering in front of Molly. "Hi there," she says politely. She's dressed about as casually as last time but softer. The leggings are the same, the boots are the same, but she's traded the hoodie out for a big fluffy sweater with a slightly oversized neck that shows a bit of shoulder. "Didn't keep you waiting long, I hope?" She runs fingers through her wind mussed hair, but it doesn't really fix it.

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Time is super funny. Molly probably is only waiting a few minutes when Divine just... thump! Lands there in front of her. The smaller girl blinks, craning her neck to stare up at her friend and smiles bigly. "...wow..." she sighs, "...you're just. So cool. And girls are just... soooo pretty...!" There's almost stars in her eyes as she beams at Divine.

    The fox-hatted blonde is dressed in some pretty basic stuff for classes. Some old jeans and those super rad rainbow sneakers she's got. Plus the pink jacket over a teeshirt that clearly has a Doge on it with the text proclaiming 'WOW!'

    "You made it, you totally came!" she says, almost as if she were worried Divine would actually refuse the invitation. "..um, nono, not long... and I totally called it an ice cream date, too.."

Divine has posed:
Divine resists the urge to reach down and tousle Molly's hair. It's very difficult for her to do, but she persists. "That is a very cute hat, Molly." Mostly because she doesn't understand what the hell a Doge is. "And of course I did. I thought we were friends? Why wouldn't I come?" She seems honestly confused. Either she truly values friendship, or she has a very simple idea of it. It's probably both.

She does pause again, though. "You ... think I'm pretty? But, I have ... Nevermind. It doesn't matter. How did you know I like ice cream?"

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly continues to beam. She might end up as bright as one of her other girlfriends at this rate. "Thanks! I've got... dozens of hats. I try to wear a different one every day but over three hundred hats is a lot of storage space and... um... I don't know how to work a spreadsheet anway... so I just, like... wear whatever hat feels right for the day..." she nods quickly, then blink. "Cuz.. calling it a date is kind of...special?" she asks, scrunching up her nose as she tries to explain.

    The poor girl, she's barely been dating herself but she knows things. Or can pretend she knows things. "But-but-but it can be a friendly only thing if you don't wanna consider it, like.... a date-date..." she give a lopsided smile. Even with the stammer, she's still as bright and cheerful as ever.

    "...yeah! Super pretty! Like, majorly!" she nods quickly, the fox ears flopping about, her cheeks flushed darkly. "...and uhm, I didn't know, actually, at all. I was just getting ice cream and... thought I hadn't really chatted at you since the whole.... woooosh! in the park!"

Divine has posed:
Divine has the humility to blush and look away when Molly confirms that she's pretty. Compliments are difficult for her. She's got another person's face. What's she supposed to feel like? She takes it in as much stride as she can, though.

She gestures to the door. "This can be ... whatever it turns out to be, Molly. I don't like labels. Not anymore. I've been labeled for most of my life, much of it literally. So let's just have ice cream and a good time."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Despite her playful designation in her phone, Molly doesn't judge Divine based on Power Girl's merits, or vice versa. Twins are different people, why not clones? And theres the whole messy business of genetics and how people with similar ethnic and regional bloodlines will have a lot of matching traits like facial structure and... ok maybe that's the class she aced the test in yesterday and she's running high on that stuff.

    "W-well..." she chews on her inner cheek slightly, reaching for the door when it's gestured her way. "...do you... like board games? At all? I got a super duper cute one to play with Nico an' Karolina... so maybe... we have some sweet treats and.. I can try to each you?" she asks, jostling her backpack a bit to make the sounds of the pieces and stuff be heard easily.

Divine has posed:
Divine is learning, slowly but surely, that she is a person and that she is not who she was made to be. It's hard, though. It's always difficult to grow past everything you know, especially when it's been implanted in your brain since it was a clump of cells in a vat.

"I've ... never played a board game, actually," she says bashfully. "I know what they are but ... I'd love it if you would teach me, Molly."

She moves into the ice cream parlor and stops, staring at the varied selection, none of it average. "...Amazing."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    And Molly is always happy to treat people like people! She even gets a bit sad if she hits a bad guy too hard! "Really?" she asks. "Really really?!" It's a double really because not only has Divine never played a board game, but she's saying she'd like Molly to teach her too? "Squee!" the girl wiggles in place, and would wag her tail if she had one!

    "Okay! Totes! We're doing this!" she says happily, then stares up at the menu board. "First! Ice cream! Let's see.. let's.. Aw, Swedish Fish! They don't have the one I wanted to get last time!" she pouts and looks up at her friend.

    "They... change out the specialty flavors, like, weekly or something... Fishies fishies *fishies*..." she curses in a very tame manner.

Divine has posed:
Emma has seen to it that the clone has developed a taste for ice cream. Granted, it occasionally grates that her boss sometimes treats her like a child, but she lets it slide for the most part. She's helped so much since the fateful day Divine crashed into the engine block of her limo that it's worth it.

She looks at Molly as she exuberantly declares how happy she is about teaching Divine to play a board game, and secondly her pouting about a missing flavor. She stares for a moment, tilting her head. It's ... so cute.

"I see," she says, stepping closer to peer in the cooler with all the tubs. "I'll try anything once."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly is so absorbed into her own little world of temporary disappointment that she doesn't even notice what sort of nostalgia is being waxed on or waxed off with Divine. Or the staring, even! At the words, she looks up, then points at the board.

    "Yeah! They had Sharknado last week! It was, like, gummi sharks an' some... sea-salt-caramel bits in vanilla ice cream... and there were chocolate chips in it, too! You gotta eat it real slow though cuz the sharkies are kinda stiff from being all frozen...!" she explains further, her exuberance absolutely unwavering. She purses her lips and scans the board. "OH! OH!" she points excitedly, hopping up and down a couple of times, making her backpack contents rattle and the fox-eared cap wiggle adorably.

    "They've got Bear Force One! That's not been here since, like... NOVEMBER!" she squeals. "It's chocolate an' cinnamon an' graham cracker teddy bears an' fluffy marshmallow goop for clouds!"

Divine has posed:
The clone can't help but smile at the palpable joy boiling from Molly. It's contagious in the best way. She listens to the descriptions of ice cream, and the first one sounds weird, but Bear Force One... "That one. I want that one."

Where does she keep her wallet? Nobody knows! She doesn't have a purse with her, or pockets it seems, and yet, she manages to produce a bank card. "I would like a small Bear Force One, and whatever Molly with the cute hat would like."

She's paying too? That shouldn't be a surprise, really.

Molly Hayes has posed:
    The be-hatted girl really is quite bubbly. But when Divine offers to pay, her eyes go as wide as saucers and she turns to stare up at her friend. "...wha--? Really? I um. I tend to order a big thing... is that okay?" she asks, sounding concerned. "Well. I'll order. And. If it's too much. I'll pay, okay?" Molly asks, smiling big.

    Then she turns around and points at the sign. "Bear Force One in a waffle bowl, please! Big one! With. Um. Chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, and extra grammy bears!" she holds up three fingers as she tallies them off. "...and a sploot of whipped cream with a cherry, please!" she nods with an air of finality before looking back up at Divine expectantly. She's already rummaging for her wallet, though, just in case.

Divine has posed:
Divine works for Emma Frost. Honestly, given her direct access to the CEO and her own personal sway with her, she may technically be the second most powerful person at Frost Enterprises. ... Technically. She is compensated quite well, and it shows as she doesn't even flinch when paying for her and Molly's ice cream. "You may have as much as you like. I only got a little one because while I can eat, it's not strictly necessary. ... But food is delicious."

Luckily, it's ice cream, and it doesn't take long. She hands Molly her very large, but delicious looking, sundae and takes hers, moving over to an empty table with space for the board game. "What will you be teaching me, Moly?"

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Those eyes are still huge. She's used to Karolina buying her stuff, but she even feels guilty about that. She really has nothing to give in return, at least in terms of money. "I... wow. Thank you!" she takes her sundae and doesn't at all seem to mind that Divine's diet is.. limited. "...you got that right! I love food! But. I need it. A lot of it.." she says with a nod, without elaborating at all.

    When they get to the table, she puts down the treat and opens up her bag. Along with the books and notes and such, she pulls out a box that says 'FLAMECRAFT' and it has a beautiful watercolor image of a town and a bunch of tiny dragons on it!

    "This one~!" she says with cheer.

Divine has posed:
Divine has dealt with metas and mutants before. Caloric needs for different metabolisms are a thing. She just gets her power from the Sun. And the occasional snack, because food is wonderful, even if she barely needs it.

She takes a bite of her ice cream, eyes widening a bit as it hits her. "This is ... wonderful," she says. Her eyes only get wider as the game box comes out. "That may be the cutest thing I have ever seen." She pauses. "...Third cutest."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Maybe Divine doesn't know Molly is a mutant yet. Or maybe she does. She used a jetpack the other day but she didn't exactly do any heavy lifting! She puts the game box down on the table and takes her seat finally, attacking her sundae with her hands. She breaks off pieces of the waffle cone bowl and uses them as edible, if short-lived, spoons for dipping in the ice cream. "You know..." she starts, crunching on a piece and swallowing. "...I bet we could get, like, ice cream nachos..." she muses aloud, glancing back at the menu in case she missed it.

    At the mention of cute things, though, she returns her focus to Divine! "Huh? Yeah, it's super cute! ...only third cutest though? What's the top two?" she asks, tilting her head to one side, the fox ears on her hat tilting with her. "...cuz... otters are pretty cute.."

Divine has posed:
Ice cream nachos are a genius idea. She files that away for later to try. For such a large person, Divine eats her ice cream daintily. Small spoonfuls, savoring the treat slowly. It's a very odd dichotomy, if one knows what she's capable of.

She is not aware Molly is a mutant, but she also assumes that most young women who do not have any powers also don't have jetpacks.

At the rating question, she tilts her head slightly. "The first two spots, at this point are floating. I think that's the right word." She smiles gently. "You and your hat are there, as is another lovely young woman who I meat in nearly as random a way as you."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    The same sort of ... odd difference is in Molly, too. The girl can catch a skyscraper--for a couple of minutes--but once she's actually gotten as many clean bits of waffle cone with her hands that she can, she eats very daintily with a spoon! Maybe it's because she's also setting up the game at the same time and doesn't want to get ice cream on the contents.

    She sets to work, though, arranging the playmat and setting up the starting town cards and shops. Then she holds out a half-dozen and one plastic dragon figurines in different colors, all with very vibrant personalities shown off in their poses!

    "OK! Pick your dragon token! Um. What's your favorite color?" she asks, tilting her head. Green, red, yellow, sky blue, purple, dark blue, and pink! More pink than her cheeks when she's told to be in the top running for cutest things Divine has ever seen!

    "A-ah? Me? Really? Top spot for cutest maybe?" she asks, blinking at Divine. "..wow.. I mean.. you're.. super pretty.. am I really that cute?" Of course she is. She's got nearly half a dozen women calling her cute on a regular basis.

Divine has posed:
"You are adorable, Molly, I would not lie. I ... don't like lying." She reaches out and takes up the purple piece. "I think this suits me well. Black would be better, but this will do." She smiles again, admiring the playmat, cheeks going a little pink when Molly says she's pretty. She's still not sure how to deal with compliments.

Like, at all.

"So, how does this work?" Yes. Back on the track of the adorable dragon board game!

Molly Hayes has posed:
    "Oh! Alchemy dragon!" she nods quickly, then picks... the pink one! "This is the ~Fancy~ dragon!" she says happily, biting her lip. Nodding. "...lying is bad... I.. do my best not to lie, if I can.." she says softly, looking away. She's certainly had to tell some half-truths to not get in trouble, but she's a good girl, honest!

    "Um, um, right. Ok. So. Our goal is to run errands in the town and.. populate the town with colorful dragons and make the town super pretty! And we get friendship and love points for every good deed we do and that's what we tally up at the end of the game!" she holds up her pink dragon and points at a shop. "...so if I go there I can get, um... I can get three meat tokens an' you can use the special power on Brisket there.." she points at a red dragon card. "...and you can put dragon cards down, and.. once you have enough... meat or metal or leefs or whatnot... you can also enchant shops to make them even cooler!" she points at a tableau of enchantment cards.

    "...get it? It's just.. dragon goes here... get stuff on this card, get stuff on that card. Or, dragon goes here and you spend stuff to do this. And get more points. And if you fill up a shop with dragons, you add a new shop!" she points at the empty shop spaces on the playmat. "...sooo it's kind of a point competition, in the end, but everyone wins cuz the town is pretty and there's helper dragons everywhere..." Then she perks up, "Oh! And. These are the fancy dragons, they have special secret goals on them, so don't tell!" she nods to a face-down deck as well.

Divine has posed:
Divine listens, eyes flickering across the game. It's terribly cute, and relatively simple. On the surface, anyway. She scans across the board and rapidly realises that in a full game, this could be incredibly cutthroat for those points.

Humans are weird.

"I see, that all makes sense. This seems like one of those simple to learn, but the tactics are complex things."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    "Yahuh!" Molly says cheerfully. "...but. I just like dragons.. and tokens.." she says with a bright smile before going back to her ice cream. "Do you wanna go first or should I go so you can see what I do?" she asks, gazing up at Divine with those bright eyes of hers. "You can do lots of fun stuff, like the powers of this dragon-type can move dragons around, so I like to do that to mix stuff up..." she beams.

Divine has posed:
Divine ponders for a moment. "Show me," she says with a nod after thinking. Of course Molly knows what to do, and visual aids on turn structure and that kind of thing, an example, will help her learn it better. "You are very ... enthusiastic about everything, Molly. I admire your spirit. I could stand to be more like you, I think."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly blinks, "I mean.. everyone's different, you know?" She shrugs and idly looks at her starting hand of cards, then back at the board. "...if it doesn't suit you then don't force it? But there's also nothing wrong with trying anything new!" she states happily.

    Then she plunks her dragon token down on the herbalist shop and takes some leef tokens, little wooden leaves painted green.

    "Ok, so, since I don't have any enchantment materials, I gotta put my dragon down somewhere.. so I go here, and... cuz the shop has this icon and the dragon has this icon, I get two leefs..." she puts two in front of her. "..and then I can play a dragon... since it matches that symbol here..." she puts a card down and points at the indicated symbols. "...and then I can use one of their powers!" she beams.

    "Annnnd that's a normal turn."

Divine has posed:
Divine watches Molly take her turn carefully, scrutinizing her move like a chess player. She's either all in, or is still trying to figure it out. Possibly both, really. The game, at that point, begins in earnest. In the beginning, there's no true back and forth. Divine is not exactly making mistakes, but she is missing smart plays. Molly on the other hand, is doing quite well, making good plays and populating the cute little town with friendly, helpful dragons.

By the latter half of the game, the clone has picked up on the rules and strategies and begins to gain ground quickly, but it's too little too late. Molly ends up with enough points to win, but Divine ends up making a good showing for her first time.

"Well played," she says with a smile. "This a cute, and fun, little game."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly might just have the blessing of experience at board games, and the knowledge of the mechanics. She's happy to see that Divine is getting the hang of it, even if it takes a bit. She's happy, too, to offer tips and answer questions, even if she sometimes has to fish out the rulebook to get better context on things.

    By the end, the town is full of shops, and dragons, and one of the decks has hit zero cards. Points are tallied and her ice cream has been fully consumed, leaving an empty bowl with a spoon in it. "Oh! Cheese crackers, did I really win?" she asks, blinking and looking at her score tracker. "You did super great for your first time!" she says with that bright smile.

Divine has posed:
The clone is far less exuberant and emotive than Molly, but she smiles back. "Thank you. It took me a minute to get the hang of it. It's deceptively complex," she says with a nod. Her ice cream has been gone a while, but it was a wee bowl, one scoop, really. "Thank you for showing me this. You clearly love it, and I feel ... special for the sharing."

She looks around for a moment. "It seems that we are some of the last people here. Has it been that long?"

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly blushes, "I... I do get really excited... I hope that's okay...?" she suddenly seems a little self-conscious, and the 'look around' distraction is good enough. "Huh... I... guess it has..." she says, lips pursing. She starts to pack away the game and notices one of the details on the box. "Oh it's supposed to take about an hour... but..."

    She then pulls out her phone and checks the time, "...must've been about two? I guess learning it and stuff and checking rules makes it take longer! But... I'm happy if you had fun! I'd like to play it with you again sometime!"

Divine has posed:
"She suddenly has a pang in her heart at Molly's self consiousness. She reaches across the table to rest a hand on one of Molly's. "You should never be ashamed of who you are. You are vibrant and joyful and very sweet. You should take pride in these things. You say you have girlfriends who love you, don't question it. Bask in it. Enjoy it. Return it to them tenfold. As someone who hasn't known much love in her life, I have at least learned that much."

Love is hard when you were grown in a vat.

"And I would love to play with you again sometime. Perhaps I will win." Her tone sounds ... competitive. Uh oh.

Molly Hayes has posed:
    There's a blink when the warmth of a hand lands on her own. She looks up at Divine and her other hand rests atop the other woman's. "...um... um.." Molly stammers, cheeks turning pink, and then she nods. "...you're right! I mean. I'm... always happy to express myself. It's why I have so many hats!" she grins, but she knows she's more than just 'that hat girl', too. "H-hey... you haven't had much love in your life?"

    Her expression returns to frown, even at the offer to play again, though the hint of competition makes the corners of her mouth quirk up some. "...I mean... you're my friend.. and.. friends should love friends, right? So... now you've got a big bowl of Molly-shaped love in your life!" she starts to smile again.

Divine has posed:
This young lady is just so kind. So earnest. It's heartwarming. Her smile doesn't waver, even when she talks about the sad things. "No. I mean, I was grown in a lab, tossed on the street and was ... a petty criminal with hate in my heart for some time." She looks out the storefront window for a moment, remembering things.

"All it took was one hand extended to help to start to turn my life around." She looks back at Molly, smiling, but serious. Like she's imparting a life lesson. "Always be kind, you never know. It may save a life. I try to live that way now." She pauses again, laughing a little. "That is a very large bowl indeed. You are mighty, Molly."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    SHe turns her hand over and squeezes Divine's between both. A hand sandwich! Molly shakes her head, "...I uhm. I know what it's like. An' sometimes... sometimes you think someone close to you is super nice and then they turn out to be not, no matter all the good stuff they did for you..." she says quietly, dredging up some really dark memories. She shakes her head quickly, making those ears flop about.

    "But the past is the past! You learn stuff from it! An' then you be better. Right? You got better, an' I think you're pretty amazing!" she smiles again, holding the other girl's hand for... probably far longer than necessary. "I'm glad you got a chance to be good. You deserve happiness, don't you? I mean, everyone kind of does, if they're good."

Divine has posed:
Divine takes a deep breath. She doesn't know Molly's pain, but she knows that look. It's the same one she gets every now and then when she remembers waking up alone and deserted in the middle of the industrial areas of the city by the docks. For a moment, she gets lost in that thought and the melancholy crosses her face for a flicker before it's gone.

She looks down at the hand sandwich, and returns the gentle squeeze. "Thank you. I think everyone deserves happiness. Even bad people. If they had some, they might not be so bad, I think."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    "Well... yeah... I mean. I warn bad guys before they get hurt but... they just keep on being bad guys.." Molly pouts. She's had experience with these things! "..but. You're welcome. Like. Super welcome. Hey! I know! How about you get some ice cream to go? So you can have some at home?"

    She squeezes that hand again, smiling brighter than ever. "Then you can have it and think of me! Like, 'Gosh that Molly sure is swell and adorable!' an' we can... totally go out and hold hands again and play a game? Maybe... you pick next time! You can find all sorts of games online, an' there's a gaming lounge here in Happy Harbor, too..." she nods quickly.

Divine has posed:
Divine's smile returns. "Actually, I have an idea." She leans closer, conspiratorial. "You have powers, don't you Molly? Do you know how to fight? Would you like to learn?"

Her blue eyes twinkle mirthfully, enjoying the secrecy of it all. Not that she hides herself or anything. Who's going to threaten her? The people who are slowly accepting her as part of their family?

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Either it's the whisper, or the fact that she was called out, but Molly's cheeks turn bright red. "...I um... I.. I can fight.." she says quietly. "..I'm... kind of... a scrapper though? Brawler? Bruiser?" she offers up, using one of her less-used 'hero' monikers. She chews on her lower lip, and then slowly, she nods.

    "D'you mean like... fighting... training?" she asks.

Divine has posed:
She nods once, unable to stop herself from smiling at the blushing. "Yes. Exactly. I'm not formally trained, but I know how to throw a punch, among other things. I'm willing to teach you if you'd like to learn. Lessons, of a sort."

Molly Hayes has posed:
    Molly nods so much and so fast she actually has to catch her hat before it slips off. "Yes, please!" she says, then blinks. She saw her phone a minute ago. "Oh! Otter whiskers, I need to get home! I have homework tonight! Um... um..." she slips her hand out of Divine's and carefully puts her game box back in her backpack. She zips it up, slings it over her shoulder, and hops out of her chair.

    There's this moment of painful deliberation, her cheeks burning bright. And then, she moves around the table and leans up, giving Divine a big smooch on the cheek! Muah!

Divine has posed:
The exclamations are possibly Divine's favorite thing. So interesting and unique ways to keep from swearing. Molly hops down after packing up and rounds the table, giving her the biggest of smooches. This makes the tall woman giggle. It's kind of a sight, honestly.

"Take care, Molly. Feel free to call or text whenever. Good luck with your schoolwork!"

Molly Hayes has posed:
    The kiss lands! It's good! Goalgoalgoaaaaal! Molly is overjoyed that she ... was both brave enough to steal a smooch and also that Divine was ok with it! This is totally Nico and Karolina's doing. They're creating a monster.

    "Thanks! Take care! See you soon! Buy more ice cream! MUAH!" she blows a kiss and then she's out the door, rapidly making noises about her stupid math homework.